Evolution of Insurance Technology - File Management

As an insurance agency, sifting through paper documents is a necessary evil. Well, it used to be necessary now it is just evil. It’s a time consuming task and documents take up time and space. Having tangible documents is slowly becoming a thing of the past and when your documents get transferred to electronic files, you have to make sure that your file management system, as well as your network, is secure.

WHAT KIND OF AGENCY ARE YOU?

AIIM is named as the leading online community that provides education, research, and best practices on information management. One of the most striking findings in AIIM’s study on information management is that 15 percent of agencies have no system for managing their records, including 10 percent of the largest organizations. What’s even more striking is that 64 percent of organizations reported that their file shares were chaotic, 48 percent said the same of email and 35 percent reported the same for their ECM system. In an industry where 38 percent of organizations are highly dependent on confidential personal information, not having a way to manage and control client files is exponentially risky.

Insurance agencies need some kind of system for file management. They also need a secure network and system to store their files in. So be smart. Get a secure system that is housed within a secure network.

THE BENEFITS OF EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY

Even for those organizations that use ECM systems, managing files and documents can still be difficult. The current reality within ECM is that there are multiple systems and multiple content silos that exist in most businesses. According to AIIM, more than half of agencies use three or more RM, DM or ECM systems when completing their daily business tasks, and nearly a quarter of agencies use five or more.

Some of those organizations using three software systems are using a three-level tiered system with records management and storage at the bottom, active documents in the middle, and file share and collaboration on top.

This is one way that organizations have found to combat the confusion that surrounds utilizing multiple systems and separate content silos, which both house necessary information. However, this system does not account for streams of information from electronic sources such as email, voicemail or social media.

The one way that organizations have consistently found to stem the constant stream of information is through automation (60%). 34 percent of agencies feel that automated classification is more consistent than humans, including 20 percent who feel that automation increases accuracy, as well. However, only five percent of organizations fully automate the filing and archiving of inbound emails.

Creating a simplistic file management process can be difficult at times because many information management system initiatives are triggered because of a short-term need or general curiosity, and can grow independent of long-term information management plans. This can lead to a scenario in which some employees are using one file management system or process while others are following another plan.

As ECM systems continue to grow in their goal to become an enterprise-wide suite, they need to provide a way for agencies to manage and control information company-wide.